Parachute



C. H. KUGLER Sept. 23, 1930.

PARACHUTE Filed sept'. 12. 192e Patented Sept. 23, 1930 PATENT OFFICE CHBLES H. XUGLEB, 0F LEXINGTON, NEBRASKA PARACEUTE Application led September 12, 41928. Serial No. 305,527.

s In the type o parachute now most com-l monly used, the sail and sail ropes are folded into a packet and strapped to the back of the aviator or other person usin the parachute, the sail being retained fol ed in the form of the packet by means of a tying cord .known as a rip cord. After an aviator using this type of arachute has 'umped or fallen from an airs ip, he has pu led a free end of this rip cord to untie the sail and allow it to be unfolded and spread into its active position to retard the descent of the aviator.l Such parachutes have worked well when the aviator has started to fall from a relatively great height, there being lenty of time for the sail to become unolded. However, when it is necessary for an aviator to jump when relatively close to the ground, the sail does not unfold 1n time to appreciably check the aviators descent, with the'result that he strikes the ground with such force as to cause injury, and, in' some cases, death.

The main object of m invention is 'to overcome this objectiona le characteristic by the provision of means for quickly projecting the sail into the air in such a way as to cause it to unfold immediately and thus to begin to act toretard the descent of the aviator without delay.

For attaining this object I attach a -piston to the underside ,of and t the 'center of a parachute sail. This piston 1s positioned within a cylinder concentrically located within a sail housing and is provided with a frictional 4packin which normall holds the iston within t e cylinder, and t e sail within the sail housing. The cylinder is adapted to communicate with a reservoir containing a su ply of compressed air, the communication etween the cylinder and the reservoir being controlled'bv means of a quickopenin valve. When the valve is opened to allow t e reservoir `to communicate with the cylinder, air pressure builds u in the cylin- 50 der to a value suicient to pro1ectthe piston from the cylinder with great speed, thus carrying the sail upwardly. Means which form an important part of my invention act to limit the throw of the piston and cause the edges of the sail to swing upwardly and outwardly relative to the center thereof, thus spreading the sail.

With the above main object, and briefly de scribed means for attaining it, in mind, my invention will be better understood from the following detailed description, tlie appended claims, and the several views illustrated in the drawings, in which:

Figure l is a front elevation of a parachute embodying my invention, 4

Fi re 2 is a central vertical sectional view showing parts of a launching device,

Figure 3 is a side elevation taken at right angles to Figure 2 of the launching device, some of the arts being shown in section, and

Figure 4 1s a sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of Figure 2.

Like numerals designate corresponding parts in the several views illustrated.

' In the drawings illustrating my invention, there is shown a parachute embodying a sail A, a launching device B, and a belt C connect'-l ed to the launching device for attaching the latter to an aviator. to the launching device, there is provided a plurality of flexible, inelastic sail cords 1 attached to the periphery of the sail at their upper ends and to a sail cord ring 2 at their lower ends, the sail cord rin bein in turn connected to the launching evice y means of rubber orother elastic cords 3.

The launching device B comprises a sail housing 4 having a bottom 5 and oval or cylindrical side wall 6, and a cylinder 7 located concentrically within the sail housing to provide an annular sail chamber 8 having an `open upper end. An air reservoir 9 is rigidly connected to the bottom of the cylinder by a Valve-structure 1'0 which communicates with the cylinder 7 and the reservoir by means of the valve structure 10 interposed between the cylinder and the reservoir.

At the upper end of the cylinder 7 there is pmvideda number of eye-lugs 11 to which the elastic cords 3 are attached.

For connecting the sail The sail housing may be constructed of any suitable light material such as leather or aluminum. In the drawings, I have shown a construction in which the side wall 6 and bottom are of leather and are carried by ametal frame work comprising supporting ribs 12-12 attached t-o thefcylinder 7, a ring 13 carried by the ribs 12, and rivets 14 for securing the bottom 5 and thev side wall 6 to the ring 13. v

The valve may be ofany type adapted to form an effective air-tight-'seal to prevent air from slowly leaking from the reservoir 9 and should be capable of being 'quickly opened. The valve comprises a valve casing 15 provided with a valve seat 16, a sleevez17 threadably mounted in the casing, a threaded valve stem 18 having a valve 19 adapted to contact with the valve seat when the yvalve stem vis moved inwardly, and a Vmanually operated lever 20 fixed to the outer end ofthe stem. The threads on the valve stem are of sudden pitch in order that a small turnlng movement of the stem will quickly open or close the valve.

The reservoir 9 is provided with a valve 21 for allowing the reservoir to be filled with air under pressure from a pump or other l source of air Supply, this valve being shown as of the type used in automobile tires( A iston 22 is. attached to the center of the i sail by means of inside and outside leather reenforcing plates 23-24 respectively, a metal disc 25 on top of the outside plate 24, and a clamping bolt 26 which passes through the iston,the plates 28-24, the sail A, 4and the isc 25.

The piston 22 is provided with an annular packing 27 of such size as to cause the piston to be frictionally and releasably held within the cylinder 7. The plates 23-24 are prefer ably of substantially the same'size as the top of the sail housing, so that, when the piston is positioned in the cylinder and so held by the friction of the packing 27, the plates 23-24 act as a closure for retaining the folded sail within the housing.

It is apparent that, when the sail is folded and the piston is positioned within the cylinder as shown in Figure 2, a sudden opening of the valve .19 will admit air under pressure into the cylinder until the pressure therein has reached a point sufiicient to overcome the friction of the packing 27, at which time the piston will be suddenly projected with considerable speed from the cylinder, carrying the sail upwardly with it.

In order to limit the throw of the center of the sail and thereby to cause the edges thereof to swing outwardly and upwardly relative to the center, I provide connections between the pistonA and the cylinder, which connections comprise flexible, non-elastic, pistonretaining cords 28--28 attached at their respective ends to the piston and to a ring 29,

described as' follows: It is assumed that the y sail is folded vand positioned within lthe sail housing, and the piston positioned within the cylinder. "It is further assumed that the valve 19 is closed and that the air reservoir is filled with air under pressure. When it isdesired to spread the parachute sail,

the valve is' opened to admit air under pressure into the cylinder 7 and to project the piston therefrom. `As the piston aseends the sail-will be unfolded and carried upwardly. When the piston has reached a predetermined point in .its travel away from the cylinder, it will be halted by the piston retaining cords 28 and the elastic cords 30. By this time the edges of the sail will have been lifted clear of the sail housing, and, when the throw of the piston is checked, the momentum of the edges will continue to carry them upwardly, thus quickly unfolding the sail.

I have foundaby tests `of my parachute that, as a result"""of the sudden projecting of the piston from the cylinder and the checking of its ascent to cause the edges of ltion, the arrangements of parts and details be variously changed withof structure ma fsiom the spirit and scope of out departing my invention.

I claim:

1. The combination with a parachute sail, of a sail housing, acylinder concentrically arranged within the housing to provide an annular chamber for normally containing the sail, a flexible connection between the sail and the cylinder, a piston attached to the sail and adapted to be frictionally and releasably held within the cylinder, and means for supplying air under pressure to the cylinder to project the piston therefrom.

2. The combination with a parachute sail, of a sail housing having an open upper end, a cylinder concentrically arranged within the housing to provide an annular chamber for normally containing the sail, a flexible connection between the sail and the cylinder, a piston adapted to be frictionally and releasably held within the cylinder, means -for. attaching the piston to the sail includlng a concentrically arranged late forming a closure for the open end o the housing and for retaining the sail within the houslng, and means for supplying air under the sail to swing outwardly and upwardly, i*

pressure to the cylinder to-project the piston therefrom.

3. The combination with a parachute sail, of a cylinder, a fiexible connection between the sail and the cylinder, a piston attached to the sail and adapted to be rictionally and releasably held within the cylinder, means for supplying air under pressure to the cylinder to project the piston therefrom,

and means connecting the piston with the cylinder forlimiting the throw of the pist0n including an inelastic flexible cord attached to the piston, and elastic means con4 nected to said cord and to the cylinder.-

4. The combination with a parachute sail, of a cylinder, a piston attached to the sail and adapted to, be frictionally and releasably held within the cylinder, a ring intermediate the piston and the sail, a flexible connection between the ring and `the lsail, an elastic connection between the ring and the piston, and an elastic connection between the ring and the cylinder.

5. The combination with a parachute sail, of a cylinder, a flexible connection between the sail and the cylinder, a piston attached to the vsail and adapted to be frictionally and releasably held within the cylinder, an elastic connection between the cylinder and the piston, and means for. supplying air `under pressure to the cylinder to project the piston therefrom.

In testimony whereof, have hereuntoY subscribed my name.

CHARLES H. KUGLER. 

